¶Now about that time, King Herod (Agrippa I)[a]stretched
out his hands to oppress some of the assembly.

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a Grandson of Herod the Great (see Mt. 2), son of Herod's third son Aristubus IV [whom Herod had executed] and brother of Herodias (see Mt.14:3, Mk. 6:17, Lk. 3:19). Herod the Great's title of King was denied to his half-uncles Herod Archelaus (see Mt. 2:22), Herod Antipas (see Mt. 14; Mk. 6; Lk. 9, 23), and Philip the Tetrach (see Lk. 3:1 [Philip, unlike his brothers, never took the name Herod]), but restored to Herod Agrippa I. In 37 CE, Roman emperor Caligula (37-41 CE) first made Agrippa king of Iturea, Trachonitis, and Batanea, the former tetrarchy of his uncle Philip, who had died in 34 CE with no heirs and whose territory the emperor Tiberius (14-37 CE) subsequently rolled into the provice of Syria. In 39 CE, Agrippa's uncle Herod Antipas attempted to appeal to Caligula to also be named a king, but instead he and his wife, Agrippa's sister Herodias, were exiled and his tetrarchy of Galilee and Perea was given to Agrippa. Finally, in 41(?) CE, Roman emperor Claudius (41-54 CE) gave to Agrippa the Roman province Iudaea, which was his uncle Herod Archelaus's former tetrarchy of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea.

When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

But he, beckoning to them with his hand to be silent, declared related
to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said,
“Tell these things to James, and to the brothers.” Then he departed, and
went to another place.

Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus, the king’s personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.